Island Zero (2017) Movie Script
[skateboard rolling]
[wind]
[man humming]
Salt! Some ice,
and there we are.
[singing] Love tequila,
how I love tequila.
Hey sweetie.
Sweetie, sweetie...
Come on, I got the drinks.
It's your favorite!
Come and have a
little drinky-poos.
[baby talk] See? I knew you
likes it. I know you did. Yes.
[kisses]
[imitates dog bark]
[imitates dog bark]
[kisses]
[laughs]
You're actually a rather
good dancer, you know?
Yes, you are.
[water noise]
Daddy's going below, to make
himself another drinky-poo.
You want one?
Hmm?
Wha-What's that?
What's that?
[laughs]
A double?
Ooh... You're getting daring,
aren't you?
Well, there's a good boy.
Stay there, hmm?
[rushing through water]
[dog growls]
[dog barks]
[continues barking]
Sweetie!
I got more drinks.
Little bit of a fruit cocktail
to go with this one.
Wooh!
Unsteady stay on the pins...
...for some reason.
[laughs]
Yes! Sweetie?
Where are you? Sweetie?
[grunts]
Sweetie?
Sweetie?
Sweetie, for God's sakes!
Sweetie?
Sweetie, where are you?
Sweetie!
Sweetie!
[hesitant cry]
[eerie music]
[man cries]
[piano music]
[music intensifies]
[slamming sound]
[heart beats]
[heavy breathing]
Sits all day like a
lump in his chair.
Never does anything around
the house anymore!
I got to do it all!
Yesterday, I split a whole half
cod of wood all by myself.
Ask him to do the simplest
thing, and he's tired.
Like I'm not tired?
Ruth, could you step outside?
I'd like to hear what
Alvis has to say.
It-it's no wonder
he's gaining weight.
I'd gain weight too if I
had someone else do
all my work for me.
Ruth, I'd like to speak
with Alvis alone.
Why?
He can't tell you
anything I can't.
Can you, Alvis?
- Can you?
- Nope!
And he's got the thermostat
cranked up so high,
the whole house it
like a sauna.
82 degrees! I'm gonna
die of a heat stroke!
You got to do something
about him, and quick!
What would you like
me to do, exactly?
Fix him!
[eerie music]
[seagulls caw]
[item thuds]
That's all I've been
pulling up this week.
Ain't a single lobster
in any of my traps.
Reuben and Emmett been pulling
up that same stuff, too.
That crap, whatever it is.
- Ctenophores.
- What?
Gelatinous zooplankton.
What?
It's a comb jellyfish.
Hell, I know it's a jellyfish!
But what are they
doing up here in December?
You-you're the biologist,
you tell me!
We've had jellyfish
blooms here before
but usually in the summer
like that weird invasion
of moon jellies we
had last July.
Look, all I care about
is my bottom line.
Where did all the
fish and lobsters go?
I don't know.
Something's happening
out there.
Yeah, I just finished it,
I'm emailing the file
to you as we speak.
I'll be on the afternoon
ferry. I'll see you tonight.
[hangs up phone]
[ding]
God, get me off this island.
[diner music]
Jess, two burgers.
Same thing's happening
to me.
Last few days haven't pulled
in so much as a guppy.
Usually expect at
least a fish or two.
But my nets have been empty.
Yup, that makes three of us.
Uhh, Donnie. His traps
came up empty.
He's givin' up
for the season.
So, Arthur...
this is a multi-species drop,
to have everything collapse
at once. The lobster,
fish, scallops.
You've seen this before?
A few years ago,
off the cost of Maryland,
the whole fishery
suddenly collapsed.
Sorry to butt in, sorry.
Couldn't help overhearing.
What do you think is
causing this?
Well it could be a
number of things.
I mean, basically our species
has declared war on the fish,
the fish are losing.
all these super trawlers,
the high tech nets.
sonar, climate change.
[laughs] Now you got
him startled.
Okay, okay. I'll stop.
You've all hear my
angry biologist rant.
We'll, uh, I haven't hear it.
I'm-I'm interested.
Are you gonna put this
in your novel, Titus?
Well, you never know what'll
end up in one of my novels.
Ahh.
Maybe you'll make
and appearance.
As long as I'm good lookin'
like George Clooney,
give me a hot love
scene with Jesse over here.
Get his wife a gun.
Are you sure you're
leaving us today?
Well, I finally finished my
novel and I gotta get
back to New York City.
You know, we've been seeing
you work on this book for
about three weeks now,
but you never told us what
it's about.
Well, it takes place
on an island,
just like this one.
That's why I came here.
Cause I wanted to get
all the details right.
It's a story about love.
and jealousy,
and a very pretty girl
who works at
the local diner.
Jess, can I have
a refill, please?
What happens to this girl?
You're gonna have to
read the book to find out.
Jess?
That guy's not coming back,
Jess. You know he isn't.
Want anything else, Emmett?
Another chance... with you.
Turkey club!
I gotta go.
I'm taking my boat out
to Rockland this afternoon,
to get my radar fixed.
Would you want to come?
We'll be back the day
after tomorrow.
We can get dinner,
maybe see a movie,
like the old days?
I have to work.
At least come down
to the dock.
You can see me off.
Jess, turkey club.
[music plays]
Ooh, neat!
Lucy.
You unwrapped your own
Christmas present, didn't you?
I just wanted to make
sure you got the right one.
and even though it's
not, like, the best.
It does have a 64 gig card
and multi-spectral dynamic
imaging. And you remember
I wanted the built in la-
Just put it back
under the tree.
You don't want to
spoil the surprise.
What surprise?
I already know what
you and Dad got me.
You're dad doesn't.
[car approaches]
[car door closes]
Go to your room, Ellie.
Why?
Please. Just go to your room.
Hey, honey.
Sam, we need to talk.
Beverly called to me
this morning.
Mitch, it's happening again
just as we expected.
Multiple reports,
multiple fishermen.
Traps and nets are
up empty.
If you could send a few
grad students and that
exascan sonar unit.
[man talks on phone]
- They're launching a new-
- When did that happen?
They're launching a
new magazine.
There's a spot on the
MASDT for me.
We are talking about the
collapse of a major fishery.
You can't spare even
a few grad students?
[man on phone speaks]
Sam, I'm going back
to Boston.
Mitch, I'll call you back.
I tried to make it here,
I really did.
But two years on this island...
I'm suffocating.
I need to get back
to the real world.
The real world,
what does that mean?
Uhh-someplace not
surrounded by water.
Where I can work. I can't
turn down this job offer.
I can come up here
ever few weeks.
Or we can all move
back to Boston together.
I can't.
I can't leave now.
I need to be here.
What I predicted is
finally happening.
Right.
The fish are vanishing.
The ocean is dying.
The world is doomed.
And what about Ellie?
You know how hard
change is for her.
And she's finally settled in.
She loves it here.
Please don't bring
Ellie into this.
Well I have to bring
Ellie into this.
She's my daughter.
She's not mine.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I have to finish packing.
[eerie music]
Made you a
corn beef sandwich.
Thanks.
Are you, uhm-are you sure you
don't want to come with me?
Val needs me.
Some new guest might
be coming in on the ferry.
And you want to spend
every last minute with Titus.
Have a good trip, Emmett.
I'll see you Wednesday.
- Wait, Jesse?
- Yeah?
[sigh]
One thing you know about
me is I always come back.
[waves crashing]
And that's the last
patient of the day.
Oh, just in time
to catch the ferry.
Oh, uh, do you have
your sea-sick pills?
Right here in my bag.
I'll see you in March, Nina.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Oh, hey. Do you have any
plans for the holiday?
[sigh]
A glass of wine and
a good book.
I'm gonna spend it all by
myself. So that's fine with me,
[softly] Okay.
[regular voice] Bye.
Damn. The power went out.
[ominous music]
[lights flicker]
[scoffs]
[zipping]
[music continues]
[seagulls caw]
[water splashing]
[annoyed sigh]
[bell rings]
Look, I've been trying to
reach the ferry for an hour
but no one's
responding on the radio.
Our power's out and
so is cell phone service.
You can hear we're on
back up generator, here.
Have you tried email, yet?
Internet's out.
Anyone else got it?
It's out at
the clinics, too.
So, no one knows why
the ferry didn't show up?
When the ferry cancels, it's
either weather or mechanical.
Well. the weather
seems fine to me.
So it's gotta be mechanical.
It'll show up when the fix it.
Well, I-I have to get back to
New York City tomorrow.
My daughter's expecting
me for the holidays.
Well, I'm expecting
and Amazon package tomorrow.
If Barb don't get a Christmas
present I'm... dead-meat.
You haven't got Barb
a Christmas present, yet?
What's wrong with you?
Looks like nobody's getting
off the island tonight.
I'm goin' home.
I'm sure it'll be
here tomorrow.
It better. It's got the
monthly shipment
of diesel on it.
Storage tank's are getting
mighty low down on the docks.
Looks like you two'll
need lodgin' again tonight.
I'll make sure there
rooms are ready.
Thanks.
[generator revs]
[ominous music]
We're shutting off the
generator in about
fifteen minutes.
I brought you a
flashlight and some candles.
Thanks, Jesse.
I'm sorry about your
ferry not showing.
That's kinda how
it goes, though.
Living on an island,
can't count on anything.
Ferry, power, the weather.
[chuckles]
Why do you stay here?
I always lived here.
And never had a good
enough reason to leave.
I could use one.
It's only 40 miles to
the mainland,
it's not like from
here to the moon.
Sometimes feels like it.
I mean, just about everything
comes from the mainland,
but, without the ferry-
[power surges]
this is all we're left with.
[deep breaths]
Well, at least I get
one night with you.
[soft music]
[rocking chair creaks]
[generator revs]
[ominous sound]
I like your little
waitress outfit, by the way.
- Really?
- Yeah.
Wish you'd wear it
all the time.
I think I can manage that.
[both chuckle]
[diner music plays]
Ell tells me you're
a novelist.
Anything I might have read?
Uhh, only if the name Titus
McLean means anything to you.
Sorry, it doesn't.
I hear you're a doctor.
Locum tenens.
I'm filling in while
they looking for someone
permanent to take
over the islands.
It seems like I spend
most of my time on ferry's.
When they're running.
It'll show up today, trust me.
Trust him.
[ominous music]
[waves crashing]
[vehicle approaches]
[music on radio]
Looks like you'll have
to stay for Christmas.
Wouldn't be so bad, would it?
It just makes things harder.
I want it to be harder,
I don't want it to be
so easy for you to leave me.
I'm not leaving you.
I'm leaving this island.
It works out the same.
But then come with me,
then let's leave together.
You could find a new job,
talk to the university.
- I burned that bridge.
- Right.
And besides,
I need to stay hear.
I need to finish the study.
You're chasing a phantom,
Sammy. You need to move on.
Rachel's dead. And
whatever she believed...
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have
brought her up.
Uhm...
I don't know anymore
than you do.
I can't raise the
Clara Bee on the radio,
and the phone's still out.
Well I can't raise
anybody on the VHF.
That's never happened before.
Emmett went over
to Rockland yesterday.
he'll let us know what's
going on when he gets back.
Hey, Doc. Guess who's staying
with us another night?
- Mmhmm.
- What can I get you for dinner?
Coffee and a B.L.T.
That will be without
lettuce or tomato,
fresh vegetable just ran out,
and breads not doing
so well either. [laughs]
I got about two days
worth of diesel left
from my generator.
I'm gonna have to start
cutting' down trees
just to stay warm.
- Yeah.
Folks are getting' upset.
More like thrilled.
This is the most excitement
that's happened to this island
in years.
Hey, Sam.
You're the science guy.
You got a theory on
what's goin' on here?
Maybe the undersea
cable got disrupted
dragged up in an anchor,
or something. That could
take out the power
and the phone-line.
Doesn't explain why
the ferry hasn't shown up.
[eerie music]
[radio back-feed]
Tucker island to
Gladys Wink.
[radio back-feed]
Gladys Wink, where are you?
Over.
[radio back-feed]
Emmett, please answer me.
[radio back-feed]
Emmett.
[radio back-feed]
[waves crashing]
Three days without
a single word.
We can handle the
ferry not showing up,
it's the not knowing
that bothers me.
Why hasn't the ferry come?
[imitates ghost sound]
End of the world.
[laughs]
Shut up, Reuben.
It's not funny.
Did it sink? What
if there was a disaster
we haven't heard about?
We're out of bread
and milk at home.
My kids are eating
peanut butter for breakfast.
I have a enough diesel to run
the generator for a few more
days, but when that runs
out, we're in the dark.
[snicker]
- No heat. No lights.
Instead of snickering, Reuben,
why don't you head to Rockland
and find out what's
goin' on over there?
Emmett's already on his way
back. He'll let us know
what's goin' on. [snicker]
He was supposed to
be back yesterday.
Where is he?
I don't know.
[soft cry]
[group chatter]
You really need
all them beans, Lars?
You never know.
'Cause that's the last of 'em.
You should leave some
for other folks. Who knows when
that ferry's gonna run again?
I don't see any limit posted.
Maybe there oughta be.
There's no more
evaporated milk.
Does anyone have a few cans
they can spare for my kids?
Anyone?
Oh, come on, Lars.
Give 'em one of yours.
Early bird gets the worm.
Oh, damnit, Lars.
Give 'em one.
No.
- Yes.
- No.
[items clutter]
Hey. Stop it!
Come on! Come on!
Come on!
[grunts]
We're gonna start
eating each other next.
[soft chuckle]
Crisis like this, you'd think
they'd pull together.
In stead, they're starting
to tear each other apart.
They're scared. And I
can understand that.
They think the rest of
the world's vanished,
and we're on our own.
At least no one will starve.
They could always go fishing.
Good luck catching anything.
Boat's will be out of
diesel soon.
All the fish have vanished.
What?
Yeah, no one's picked
anything up in weeks.
No lobsters, no fish.
What's goin' on out there?
It's a question I'm
trying' to answer.
I wrote a paper on the
phenomenon a few years ago.
Sudden Unexplained
Collapse of a fishery.
SUC Fish for short.
[soft chuckle]
It sounds funny,
but it's a tragedy.
So this is not
a new phenomenon?
There was a theory proposed,
that maybe there are apex
predators we haven't
identified yet.
This is your theory?
My wife's.
I though Lucy was
a journalist?
Lucy and I aren't married.
My wife, Rachel. She was a
Marine Biologist like me.
Was?
Four years ago she
was lost at sea.
We found her research
boat adrift with no aboard.
I'm sorry, Sam.
Yeah, she died doing
what she loved.
That's the one thing
I keep telling myself.
It's like the only
way I can...
I lost someone, too.
So I understand.
There you go. Four stitches.
[soft chuckle]
I'm no plastic surgeon,
so you may end up with a scar.
I'm lucky you happened
to be on the island.
Well, I would love
to get off this island.
What if the ferry
doesn't come?
We all descend into
mass cannibalism.
[soft laugh]
- No, listen. I'm serious.
Look at them, they're scared
and they're at each
others throats.
Who's gonna keep order?
[knock on door]
Uh, Sam. There's a problem
down in the dock and
they need you.
[ominous music]
That Emmett's boat?
Yeah. Only problem is
there's no sign of Emmett.
I found it on the
shores over there.
Radioed Lars and Author.
We went searching on the water
but we couldn't find any sign
of Emmett or his body anywhere.
The day he left, Jess
packed him a sandwich,
it's still in his duffle bag.
He never ate it.
I don't think he ever made
it to the mainland.
Maybe he hit a wave?
Knocked him down.
Sam. There's blood here.
[ominous music]
He went overboard.
Yeah. It's what
it looks like.
Trouble is, the morning Emmett
left, the water was glass.
There were no waves.
What is that?
I don't know.
Looks organic.
[sniffs] Smells organic.
It's like the sea.
He was such a smart kid.
Lived his life on the water.
I don't understand it,
how could he-
how could he go overboard?
The ocean takes
ever the careful ones.
- [deep exhales] Oh, Jesse.
- What?
[inaudible]
[group chatter]
So Emmett never made
it to the mainland.
And we still don' know
where the damn ferry is.
Well there's gotta
be a logical explanation.
You keep saying, Sam.
But what is the explanation?
Why isn't anyone
tryin' to reach us?
Has the whole world
forgotten we're here?
Someone needs to go across and
find out what the problem is.
Emmett already tried,
look what happened.
Look, my generator's dead.
My power's off.
If you're goin' Lars,
I comin' too.
My kids and I are
comin', too. We've had enough.
Hold on, then.
My boat's no big enough.
Well I got enough fuel
to get across the water,
I can carry some of you.
But Lars, you and I
should go out together.
Keep an eye on each other,
in case one of us
get's into trouble.
Lee's runnin' out of
his heart pill. He needs to go.
- I called dibs first.
- People! People!
We can't fit the
whole island in two boats.
Some of you are gonna
have to stay here.
Why don't you all
just draw lots?
[group mutters]
It's the only
fair thing to do.
Are you kiddin'?
There's gotta be priorities.
Sick folks, first.
Then woman and children.
Hey, what is this?
The Titanic?
I need to get off
this island, too.
Not more than my
children do.
If you want to go to the
mainland, be on the pier
at 3 o'clock. We'll figure out
then who gets to go on board.
Looks like there won't
be any room for us.
Well, let me check with
Arthur. His boat's up
on the north shore. Maybe he
can get you across.
[ominous music]
[muffled argument]
At least I can
count on you.
[leaves rustle]
[argument continues]
I'm not trying to-
[ominous noise]
[crow caws]
[ominous music]
We'll be okay, Ellie.
Whatever happens between
me and Lucy, you and I...
we'll manage.
Just the two of us.
- It is 'cause of me?
- What?
- The reason Lucy's leaving?
- No. No.
This is between
me and Lucy.
If anyone's at fault, it's me.
'Cause of the fish?
The fish?
She say's that's all
you think about.
"Where are the fish?" Dad,
who cares about the stupid fish?
No one but you.
[sigh]
- Your mom did.
You know, when you were
six years old, we took you
to the Boston Aquarium,
and you wouldn't leave.
You stuck to that jellyfish
tank tighter than a limpet.
- Remember that?
- Yeah.
We stayed there three hours.
The truth is you mom didn't
want to leave you there. She
was like a fish, herself.
Never happy out of water.
She would have loved it here.
Not like Lucy.
No.
Lucy's different.
You can wait here? I'm just
gonna go talk to Arthur.
And I'll be right back.
[birds cawing]
Arthur!
Arthur! Arthur!
You in there?
Jesus!
Ugh. Dinner.
What?
I'm guessing his last
meal was dinner.
Specifically pork and beans.
I can see the remains here in
the stomach which would place
time of death some
time last evening.
Would have been soon after
he ate because this is
- still pretty much undigested.
- Jesus.
You're a biologist.
Haven't you dissected animals?
Yeah, but this animal
shook my hand last week.
And hello. We have a capsule.
Blue. Arthur was taking
Cardizem. A blue capsule.
Who the hell would
have done this?
Just sliced him up and
thrown him on the rocks.
I can't imagine anyone on
this island killing Arthur.
I'm not sure
this was murder.
His intestines looked like they
were ripped apart, not sliced.
Do you have any
bears on the island?
A bear would have to
swim 40 miles to get here.
What do you think
happened to him?
I don't know.
Clearly there was a struggle.
There's blood everywhere.
Let's take a look
at that blue substance.
Where did you find it, again?
On the axe blade. It looked
like the same stuff
we found on Emmett's boat.
- Blood cells.
- Are you sure?
But those are blue. I've
never seen blood that color.
I have. It's an
adaptation to cold water.
In stead of hemoglobin,
some marine animals
have blood with hemocyanin.
It's copper based. They could
survive sub-freezing
temperatures all the
way down to Antarctica.
Marine animals?
The water. Everyone
should stay off the water!
We need to stop those boats!
It's too late. Lars and
Reuben left an hour ago.
Who went with them?
[ominous music]
Most of the island.
[radio back-feed]
Tucker island calling Anya.
Anya, are you there? Over.
[radio back-feed]
Lars, are you there?
[radio back-feed]
Lars, are you there?
[radio back-feed]
They should still
be in radio range.
Lars, come in. Over.
[radio back-feed]
Do you really want them
to turn around and come back?
They must be half way to
the mainland by now.
They need to know
what happened to Arthur.
We don't know
what happened to Arthur.
Lars, are you there? Over.
[radio back-feed]
[on radio] This is Anya.
What's up, Val? Over.
Lars, it's Sam. You folks
alright out there?
[on radio] Yeah, we just
passed Burdock. No problems.
What about Reuben?
[on radio] His boat's
right behind me.
And here's the good news; there's
plenty of fish out here.
My sonar just lit
up like Vegas.
What do you
see on sonar?
[on radio] It looks like
a giant shoal of fish.
Movin' right beneath us.
About 30 meters down.
Big ass echoes.
Could be blue fin.
Are you sure they're fish?
[on radio] What else
would they be?
Lars, listen to me.
Get to the shore
as soon as you can.
Just head for the closest
landfall, even if it's just
a pile of rocks. Just get
the folks off the boat.
[on radio] Why?
Just get off the water!
[on radio] Jesus Christ.
What the hell is that?
Lars?
[on radio] Hey. Hold on!
And don't let them go over.
[screams over radio]
- [on radio] Hold on.
[muffled speech]
Lars?
[radio feedback]
Lars!
[generator dies]
[strikes match]
That's it. That's the
last of our diesel.
From now on, we're in the dark.
What happened out there, Sam?
I don't know.
You told them to get
off the water, you must
have known something
was going to happen.
Well, I was guessing.
After what happened to Emmett
and then to Arthur.
What did happen to Arthur?
You looked at the remains,
what did you see?
It looks like he was ripped
apart by some sort of animal.
But this happened aboard
his boat. On the water.
This is straight out
of your research paper.
What paper?
I wrote it four years ago on
the collapse of fisheries.
Tell them the rest, Sam.
Rachel and I first saw
it happen here.
It was December, four years
ago in Cape Hatteras.
A sudden and drastic
drop off in catches.
We tried to hunt down reasons.
We tested for toxins,
temperature shifts, and
dinoflagellates.
Dino what?
Red tide. We found nothing
to explain it, but it was
clear there was some sort of
marine catastrophe,
everything vanished from
crab to fish to dolphins-
You said that was the first
time you saw it happen, so
it's happened since then?
A year later, a colleague in
Dover observed the same thing.
And a year after that,
it happened in Nantucket.
So, we thought it might be
the Gulf stream Phenomenon.
Maine isn't on the
Gulf stream.
No, but the Gulf stream and
the Labrador current collide
to create one the richest
fishing grounds in the world,
the gulf of Maine.
And I predicted this is
where it would happen next,
and I was right.
'Cause something's changing.
Something that's causing the
fish population to collapse.
Like in Delaware
and Nantucket.
And it turned out
in other places, too.
There've been reports from
the Azores and Cape Verde.
And the pattern
is always the same;
a sudden disappearance of fish,
local economic devastation,
and then the fishermen
start to die.
From what?
Everyone assumed the deaths
were accidents or suicide, but
the bodies were never
found because
it always happened at sea.
Look, you said you had a
theory for what's causing this?
Rachel believed that there is
a marine predator that we
haven't identified, yet.
It's an apex predator
that migrates with the fish.
And it kills the fishermen?
[laughs]
Wouldn't somebody
have reported this?
That's why no one took it
seriously, but Rachel did.
Because she spotted it
on sonar, something that she
couldn't identify. And the day
that she disappeared, she was
out on the water
looking for it.
Lars saw something
on sonar, too.
He said it looked like
a giant shoal of fish.
Which means there's
more than one.
[soft chuckle]
Or it's really fucking big.
[laughs] Oh, my God.
[ominous music]
Not so boring
here, after all.
[soft laugh]
Maybe you should stay
and cover the story.
Like any good journalist.
Maybe I should.
For the sake of the story.
It just turned out to
be right under my nose.
Captain Aha and
the White Whale.
What?
It's what you called me once,
Captain Ahab, chasing a monster
that would drag me
under the waves.
And it did.
Cost me my job,
brought us to this rock.
When I heard you
explain everything tonight,
I finally understood
the obsession.
It's still about Rachel,
isn't it?
You're on this island
because of her.
Because you are compelled
to find this thing
that she was searching for.
This thing that killed her.
I was never really
quite sure it existed.
But now I know she was right.
I believe her.
So do I.
[waves crashing]
I always despised beans.
Better learn to like 'em,
Titus, 'cause we're running
out of everything else.
Do you mind if we bring some
of our supplies over to Nina's?
She told me this morning that
she's running low on food.
Sure. She can move in
here if she wants.
Ruth and Alvis, too.
It might be smart for us to pull
our resources while we figure
out what the hell is goin' on.
If this were one
of your novels,
how would you explain it?
[soft chuckle]
We all wake up and find
out it just was a nightmare.
Pretty lame for a writer.
Even with that fire goin',
it's gonna get cold in here.
We're gonna need
more blankets.
I'll get 'em.
I just hope this story
has a happy ending.
There's no such thing
as a happy ending.
You're full of sunshine
and light, doctor.
Well, I've seen too
many endings.
some are painful,
some are tragic.
None of them are happy.
That's why I prefer fiction.
Why come all the
way out here to write?
'Cause-
My book takes place
on and island,
and I wanted authenticity.
Pulled out a map, searched
the Maine cost for the most
remote island I could find,
and this was it.
Island Zero.
It's uh...
It's my title.
What does it mean?
The island where all
things can be rebooted.
New lives, new relationships.
New possibilities.
[music plays]
[closes truck of car]
Nina?
I got about a weeks worth
of pork and beans for you.
[muffled] Nina?
[music on radio]
Nina?
I brought a weeks worth
of pork and beans for you.
Nina?
[gasp]
[cries]
[pants]
[tires screech]
[cries]
What did that? What the
hell did that to her?
Ruth and Alvis.
Dad?
- Stay in the car!
- But, Dad.
Stay with Jesse. Both of
you just stay in the car.
But, Dad.
[ominous music]
[creature growls]
Well you could've
knocked, first.
Are you okay?
Alvis ain't up to speed
but I'm doin' fine, considering.
Sounds like a bear hibernating.
[Al snores]
82 degrees in here and
he needs all them blankets.
Ruth! You can't stay here.
You and Alvis need to leave
the house right now.
Why? Where we goin'?
To the inn. Everyone on the
island needs to stay together.
- Dad?
- Go back to the truck, Ellie!
Ruth, Nina's dead.
Something got into her house,
smashed through the window.
Dad, I need to show
you something.
Ellie recording this
a couple of nights ago.
And it happened at the waters
edge right behind our house.
Why are we only hearing
of this video now?
'Cause it was her Christmas
present, she wasn't supposed
to be using it.
What kinda camera is this?
It's a thermographic camera,
the images come from infrared
radiation. You can see
temperature differences
as little as
.07 degrees celsius.
Definitely your kid.
Here.
This is when it happens.
What the hell was that?
Could be a bear,
or a cougar.
No.
So on this camera, cold
temperatures are blue
the warm temperatures are
orange. Play it again, Ellie.
Look what attacks the deer,
what color it is.
It's cold blooded.
Amphibian?
I mean, possibly. But, even
octopuses come out
of the water to hunt. They could
stay out for as long as an hour.
So this is what killed
Arthur and Nina and Emmett.
It's cold blooded,
and it came from the water.
How far is Nina's
house from the water?
About a hundred yards.
We're closer than
that right now.
[gun clicks]
How'd you learn
to do that?
Take apart guns?
I've spent some
time around weapons.
You mean like hunting?
In a way.
Lucy won't let me
near any guns.
Good for her.
This pistol's worthless, but the
rifle and shotgun seem
to be in working order.
Are there any other
weapons on the island?
Between me and Alvis,
that's all we've got.
What about ammo? There's only
four bullets for the rifle.
Arthur used to hunt. Maybe
there something at his house.
I better get over there
before it gets dark.
You shouldn't be out
there alone. I'll go with you.
[ominous music]
If this creature
really exists,
why hasn't anyone reported it?
Well new breed of species are
discovered all the time.
Well were talking about
something that can rip
a man apart. One of these
must've washed on the shore,
somewhere.
- Not necessarily.
Could be like whale fall.
Like what?
Well when a whale dies at sea,
it doesn't wash on shore.
It sinks.
And there carcasses can end
up on abyssal zone
five-six thousand feet down.
where a complex ecosystem
feeds on the corpse.
The deep sea bed
is just littered
with the bones of whales, and
who knows what else.
Found some.
[bullets shake in box]
[music plays]
Here, look at this.
Don't run down
the battery, Ellie.
I'm just showing him
how to use it.
I've never been good
at roughing it. [chuckle]
I hate camping. Can't stand the
ocean. I always get sea sick.
How did you end up
with a marine biologist?
[soft laugh]
I interviewed him for a
Father's Day story
on single dads. One thing
led to another.
So you never met his wife?
No, Rachel had died
two years before.
Sam says Ellie looks
just like her.
It's like Rachel's ghost
is always with us.
How can I compete with that?
Now why do you
have to compete?
You can spot animals that
you'd never see with a regular
camera.
See that orange
thing up in the branches?
I think it might
be a squirrel.
So how long does the
battery last on this thing?
I charged it up yesterday,
plus I have a spare battery.
Even when it's pitch black
outside, you could still see-
What is it? Kid.
What is it?
[ominous music]
There's something coming.
Oh, my God.
[items thud]
[bangs on door]
What the hell was that?
[door creeks]
[monstrous noise]
Where is it?
Why can't we see it?
[screams]
[flesh ripping]
[screams]
[gun shot]
What the hell was that?
Sam?
They'll be back.
[ominous music]
[door creeks]
This is it.
This house is about as far from
the water as we can get.
Who lived here?
The McCarty's. After their kid
drowned they left the island.
Never came back.
A girl.
Titus, are you ready to go?
The others are already
headed up the hill.
Titus?
[dark music]
Titus?
[gasp]
[hammer on door]
Alvis?
Down at the inn, you
said they'll be back.
Like you already know
what's gonna to happen.
Have you seen one of
these things before?
I didn't see it, exactly.
But I've seen what they do.
How? When?
It was on a freighter, in the
Pacific. The Dundee.
We were in the middle of
nowhere. The dolphins had been
followin' us for days.
Then, they vanished.
The sea went calm.
We lost Bill the first night,
on night watch.
Nobody saw him go overboard, he
was just gone the next morning.
The next night, Jake was gone.
On the third ni-
On the third nigh-
What happened on
the third night?
I was in the
engine room, on duty.
When I heard the gunfire, I
thought there had been pirates
attacking us. Huh!
When I got up on deck,
there was no one left.
Blood everywhere,
on the bridge, the galley,
the crewmen's quarters.
12 men gone. I was
the only one left.
You said you saw it, Alvis.
What did you see?
Just on deck, a shimmer,
like T.V. static?
like shimmering.
Then I heard the Navy
copter coming in,
answering our distress call.
The Navy asked me
what had happened. [laughs]
I couldn't tell 'em.
I didn't know. That
was 30 years ago.
[loud bang]
There should be enough there
to tie us over for a few days.
- Where's Jesse?
- Isn't she here?
I thought she was with you.
I didn't see her, I though
she came with you.
I'll go look for her.
[stammer] I'm the one who
screwed up. I'll go with you.
I'll take the shotgun.
No, there gonna need
a weapon here.
You can take the camera. Just
watch for anything coming at us.
'Cause it's the only
way we'll see them.
Yeah.
Yeah, okay.
- Be careful.
- I'll hold down the fort.
[door opens]
Jesse?
Jesse, are you here?
[whispers] There's nothing.
It's clear.
Oh, shit!
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
It was a mouse.
They oughta call
the health department.
[soft laugh]
Blood.
What do you see in there?
Anything?
Nope. It's clear.
[floor board creaks]
[grunts]
[cocks gun]
He killed Jesse.
And left her hanging
on the porch, like bait.
And they gutted her.
Why?
What are you really doing
on this island?
He's got it password
protected, Dad.
I can't get into it.
What's the password?
Guess.
What's the fucking password?!
You might want to cooperate.
Or what? You'll shoot me?
What about the hippocratic
oath? You're a doctor.
You know what's good
about being a doctor?
After I shoot you, I can keep
you from bleeding to death.
A well placed tourniquet
should do it.
Stop, for God's sake.
What are you doing?
I'm okay with this?
You Alvis?
Got no problem.
Have we all lost our minds?
You didn't see Jesse's body,
and what they did to her.
And what he did to her.
And I need to know why.
Okay, Ellie. Go to
the bedroom.
- But, Lucy.
- Just go, please.
Shut the door.
Say good-bye to procreation.
[stammer] palmyra415.
That's the password?
No caps.
[keypad clicking]
Isn't that the
name of his novel?
[snicker]
This isn't a novel.
This is a scientific report.
"Sudden drop in fish stocks,
next event expected at latitude
43.76, Island Zero"
What's island zero?
You are.
We are. This place,
this rock.
We're sitting at ground zero
for the invasion.
I was hoping I would be
miles away by now, but
things coalesced faster
than expected.
You knew what was
gonna happen.
You knew people
would start dying.
I couldn't be certain,
but the data was there.
- What data?
- Your late wife's date,
as a matter of fact.
Four years ago, when she
brought up the possibility of
an unidentified apex predator,
most people laughed.
Some of us didn't because we
have been monitoring
these instances for decades.
Did you never wonder why your
research funding was yanked
so precipitously?
Because we knew too much.
We had to be silenced.
This is a new species.
A major scientific discovery.
It should be shared
with the world.
[laughs]
It's the journalist talking.
Why would you keep
it a secret?
Because it's exploitable.
Right, Titus?
You want it for yourselves.
Oh, I know how you
people think.
These creatures can't be
detected with the naked eye.
On sonar? They just look like
a harmless school of tuna.
They're amphibious
killing, eating machines.
Gee. Who might be
interested in that?
- The military.
- You think?
You were military,
weren't you, Doctor Barrow?
I can always spot an ex-soldier.
That's why you're so
comfortable around fire arms.
Did you serve in
Iraq or in Afghanistan?
Both.
So, and you know what
war does to human bodies?
That's why I left. I got sick
of seeing soldiers ripped apart.
That is exactly why
we need these creatures
on our side, working with us.
Problem is, you may have
destroyed any chance
to negotiate with them because
you went and fucking shot one.
That thing ripped Val apart,
You think we are gonna
to negotiate with them?
We're making first contact
with an intelligent
marine species. My job is
to be the diplomat.
We cannot kill any of them.
Do you all understand that?
Do you?
You're negotiatin' with fish?
They're not fish.
They have a complexed language,
and social structure.
They hunt cooperatively.
Their brains are every bit as
large and neurologically complex
as ours. And their use
of echolocation is beyo-
You ca-
You cannot possibly know
this much about them.
Unless you have one
in captivity.
We caught one. Nine years
ago, after an oil spill,
in the Gulf of Mexico.
It was sick, it was
unable to camouflage itself.
After that discovery, we went
looking for more of them.
Captured another one, uhh,
off the Carolina's.
Third of Cape Hatteras.
Like so many other species,
they're migrating northward.
It's climate change.
Rising temperatures and over
fishing has caused them
to move northward in
search of food,
which has brought
them right here,
to the world's
richest fishing waters.
Island Zero.
Where it all begins.
People live here.
You can't keep this a secret.
They can keep
anything a secret.
All them people dead.
And we're next, aren't we?
Damn you! Goddamn you!
- Don't!
- Dad! Their coming!
A lot of them!
[monster growls]
[leaves rustle]
Oh, my God!
[hammering nails]
[monster growls]
Cut me loose!
You need me, Sam!
You, shut up!
You're all gonna die
if you don't listen to me!
I can negotiate with them!
[hammering nails]
You have to let me go!
Only 'agotiations gonna
be with this here shotgun!
If you kill one of them,
you kill all of us!
[distant thumps]
You have to let me go!
I can talk to them!
[monster growls]
[distinct talking]
[walls creak]
[loud thud]
[floorboards creak]
They're in the basement.
I don't know how
they got it.
Dad!
[monster growls]
Don't shoot it!
For God's sake. Let me
talk to them!
[gun clicks]
- Start talking.
- I need my laptop.
Cut me loose!
[loud thud]
Here, here, here!
Talk now, Titus,
or I'm pulling the trigger.
[monster growls]
What the hell?
We've been studying their
language for years, and we
think this means "hello."
You think?
We're not entirely sure.
So you might be telling him
his mom wears army boots.
It stopped. It's thinking.
[monster hisses]
It's working.
It's not attacking.
What happens after hello?
Negotiations begin.
[computer imitates
monster noise]
What are you telling
it, Titus?
[computer imitates
monster noise]
What the hell
are you telling it?
[computer imitates
monster noise]
What the hell
are you telling it?
I think he just told
them "dinner is served."
And we're dinner.
The attic.
Get to the attic!
Ellie!
Alvis. Alvis come with us!
Alvis!
Ruth, go! Go!
Dad, there's one
right behind you!
[gun shot]
[monster whimpers]
[monster growls]
I'm a friend!
[computer imitates
monster noise]
Don't attack!
Don't attack!
Don't attack!
[laptop breaks]
I'm a friend!
I'm a friend!
[intense music]
[monster hisses]
[gun shot]
[group screams]
[Ruth cries]
Where are they?
I don't know.
Are they gone?
We have no food
or water in here.
[Ruth continues to cry]
All we have to do is wait
and starve ourselves.
[knocks on door]
Hey, it's me!
Alvis?
[jiggling door handle]
- Open up!
Oh, my God.
It's Alvis! It's Alvis!
Damn old fool!
I thought I lost you!
Ohh! I thought you were dead!
Where's Titus?
He is there!
And there!
Well they take
their dead with them.
Why is Alvis still alive?
Why didn't they attack him?
Probably 'cause his
hide's too damn tough.
[soft laugh]
Would you want
to eat him?
Sam, come up and
take a look at this!
Look at the skin
on this thing.
It's shiny, almost reflective.
Some kind of
protective armor?
This skin isn't for
protection, it's for bending
and refracting light.
The military is trying to
develop something
just like this.
That's why we can't see them.
In stead of changing the
color of it's skin,
like a chameleon or octopus,
these things have evolved a
completely different way
to disappear.
Prey would never see
it coming.
The ultimate advantage
for a predator.
[ominous music]
[couple talking]
Dad, my camera
battery is almost dead.
Shut it down.
We won't be able
to see them coming.
Then we'll just
have to keep them out.
And we'll reinforce
the boards again.
And then what? We stay
here and starve?
Well at least we
won't freeze to death.
Got all that wood to burn.
[Alvis laughs]
Heat. That's it.
That must be it.
What?
The reason Alvis
is still alive.
He stayed near the stove.
And they can't
tolerate heat.
And that's why they're moving
north like the other species.
Huh.
You were the only survivor
on that cargo ship
because you were in a
hot engine room.
According to this research,
the creatures are attracted to
noise and to light.
There's no mention of heat, or
any specific temperature that
repels them.
82 degrees.
How do you know that?
'Cause that's how we
set the thermostat at home.
[soft laugh]
They didn't come to our house.
They went to Nina's instead.
So we're gonna heat
the place up.
We're gonna get it
nice and toasty.
And keep it warm in here.
Keep 'em at bay until
someone rescues us.
I don't think anyone's
coming to rescue us, Sam.
It's all here in the report.
Their plans for the island.
- Isolate. Quarantine.
- And eliminate.
I thought they wanted
these creatures alive?
Why would they kill them?
This isn't about the
creatures. It's about us.
What they have planned for us.
That's why they cut
off the island.
The ferry, the phones.
We're the only ones left
who know what happened.
Their gonna wait
until we're dead.
The world would find out.
There'd be questions.
And they'd have the answers.
A way to explain how
we all died.
A fire in the village, or
Sam here went berserk
and slaughtered us all.
If no one's coming
to rescue us then...
what are we gonna do?
[intense music]
What was it like in the army?
Hot.
I don't like hot.
Did you ever shoot anyone?
Why are you asking? You
think it's fun shooting people?
I just wondered. I've
never even held a gun.
Lucy's scared of them, and my
dad says he won't shoot anything
'cause he's a biologist.
A gun is a tool, Ellie,
that's all.
Like a chainsaw, someone
could get hurt if your careless.
I'm not careless.
Would you really have shot
Titus in the you know where?
I guess we'll never know,
will we?
Shouldn't you be sleeping?
You aren't.
Someone has to stay alert.
Can I lie down next to you?
What do they want?
The creatures.
Probably what everybody
wants, to stay alive,
and breathe, to eat.
Have kids.
How come you
don't have any kids?
That's a personal question.
I'm sorry. I just think
you'd be a cool mom.
I was.
[loud clang]
Anything happening?
Not a sound.
I know they're out
there somewhere.
I don't know what
they're waiting on.
Not hungry enough, yet.
Maybe we scared them.
You did kill a few.
Sam, there's only
seven bullets left.
- It's not enough.
- I know.
I wasn't there when
she was born.
Rachel went into labor
three weeks early.
I was at a conference in Oregon.
I missed-
watching her come
into the world.
And now-now I'm gonna
have to watch her-
I'm not gonna
let it happen.
Not to you.
[monster growls]
I hate this waiting around.
Letting them choose the moment.
There's nothing else
we can do.
I read the
Island Zero report.
They can only be out of
the water for an hour at a time.
And they hunt at night.
If they do attack, it will be
in the next five hours.
[monster growls]
I've got every window
boarded up.
But even if we hold them
off tonight, what about
tomorrow night?
And the night after?
In a week we'll be out
of food and water.
Maybe it's the soldier in me,
but starving to death is not
how I wanna go down.
Are you suggesting
we attack them?
We know they're attracted
to light and to noise.
That's how they
locate their prey.
They don't need to find us,
they know where we are.
So let's roll out
the welcome mat.
[monster growls]
[distant Christmas music]
[monster growls]
What are you waiting for?
What if this is the only
population on earth, I'd be
killing the last of
their species.
Good!
[Christmas music continues]
[deep exhale]
[fire crackles]
[monster growls]
[helicopter hovering]
We can't stay here.
We need to leave.
Maybe they're coming
to rescue us.
What if you're wrong?
[building collapses]
Go, now!
Sam!
Shouldn't we at least
wait to see if-
[gasp]
[monster growls]
[ripping sound]
[gasp]
[Lucy screams]
Lucy!
[gun shots]
No! No! No!
Lucy! No!
Oh, my go-
Oh, my God!
- Sam, we need to leave now!
- No. No!
- Sam, we have to leave!
- Please don't leave me!
- Please! No!
- They're coming!
[building collapses]
Sam!
- Sam!
- Don't leave me!
No! No!
[soft talking]
[Sam cries]
Here! Here!
We're here!
Where's my dad?
Where's Lucy?
[ominous music]
[Sam cries]
[distant gun shots]
Dad? Dad?
- Quiet. We have to be quiet.
- No! We can't leave him!
Go back! We have to go back!
No, I'm in charge, soldier!
My job is to keep you alive,
and I am going to do that,
you got that?
That is what I
am going to do!
And it's what I'm
going to do.
[Ellie cries]
[ominous music]
We're far enough away, now.
Can't you turn on the engine?
No engine, no noise.
There might be more of them.
We have to be silent.
It's forty miles
to the mainland.
You're gonna row the whole way?
I can do it.
I can do it.
[whispers] I can do it.
[ominous music]
[wind]
[man humming]
Salt! Some ice,
and there we are.
[singing] Love tequila,
how I love tequila.
Hey sweetie.
Sweetie, sweetie...
Come on, I got the drinks.
It's your favorite!
Come and have a
little drinky-poos.
[baby talk] See? I knew you
likes it. I know you did. Yes.
[kisses]
[imitates dog bark]
[imitates dog bark]
[kisses]
[laughs]
You're actually a rather
good dancer, you know?
Yes, you are.
[water noise]
Daddy's going below, to make
himself another drinky-poo.
You want one?
Hmm?
Wha-What's that?
What's that?
[laughs]
A double?
Ooh... You're getting daring,
aren't you?
Well, there's a good boy.
Stay there, hmm?
[rushing through water]
[dog growls]
[dog barks]
[continues barking]
Sweetie!
I got more drinks.
Little bit of a fruit cocktail
to go with this one.
Wooh!
Unsteady stay on the pins...
...for some reason.
[laughs]
Yes! Sweetie?
Where are you? Sweetie?
[grunts]
Sweetie?
Sweetie?
Sweetie, for God's sakes!
Sweetie?
Sweetie, where are you?
Sweetie!
Sweetie!
[hesitant cry]
[eerie music]
[man cries]
[piano music]
[music intensifies]
[slamming sound]
[heart beats]
[heavy breathing]
Sits all day like a
lump in his chair.
Never does anything around
the house anymore!
I got to do it all!
Yesterday, I split a whole half
cod of wood all by myself.
Ask him to do the simplest
thing, and he's tired.
Like I'm not tired?
Ruth, could you step outside?
I'd like to hear what
Alvis has to say.
It-it's no wonder
he's gaining weight.
I'd gain weight too if I
had someone else do
all my work for me.
Ruth, I'd like to speak
with Alvis alone.
Why?
He can't tell you
anything I can't.
Can you, Alvis?
- Can you?
- Nope!
And he's got the thermostat
cranked up so high,
the whole house it
like a sauna.
82 degrees! I'm gonna
die of a heat stroke!
You got to do something
about him, and quick!
What would you like
me to do, exactly?
Fix him!
[eerie music]
[seagulls caw]
[item thuds]
That's all I've been
pulling up this week.
Ain't a single lobster
in any of my traps.
Reuben and Emmett been pulling
up that same stuff, too.
That crap, whatever it is.
- Ctenophores.
- What?
Gelatinous zooplankton.
What?
It's a comb jellyfish.
Hell, I know it's a jellyfish!
But what are they
doing up here in December?
You-you're the biologist,
you tell me!
We've had jellyfish
blooms here before
but usually in the summer
like that weird invasion
of moon jellies we
had last July.
Look, all I care about
is my bottom line.
Where did all the
fish and lobsters go?
I don't know.
Something's happening
out there.
Yeah, I just finished it,
I'm emailing the file
to you as we speak.
I'll be on the afternoon
ferry. I'll see you tonight.
[hangs up phone]
[ding]
God, get me off this island.
[diner music]
Jess, two burgers.
Same thing's happening
to me.
Last few days haven't pulled
in so much as a guppy.
Usually expect at
least a fish or two.
But my nets have been empty.
Yup, that makes three of us.
Uhh, Donnie. His traps
came up empty.
He's givin' up
for the season.
So, Arthur...
this is a multi-species drop,
to have everything collapse
at once. The lobster,
fish, scallops.
You've seen this before?
A few years ago,
off the cost of Maryland,
the whole fishery
suddenly collapsed.
Sorry to butt in, sorry.
Couldn't help overhearing.
What do you think is
causing this?
Well it could be a
number of things.
I mean, basically our species
has declared war on the fish,
the fish are losing.
all these super trawlers,
the high tech nets.
sonar, climate change.
[laughs] Now you got
him startled.
Okay, okay. I'll stop.
You've all hear my
angry biologist rant.
We'll, uh, I haven't hear it.
I'm-I'm interested.
Are you gonna put this
in your novel, Titus?
Well, you never know what'll
end up in one of my novels.
Ahh.
Maybe you'll make
and appearance.
As long as I'm good lookin'
like George Clooney,
give me a hot love
scene with Jesse over here.
Get his wife a gun.
Are you sure you're
leaving us today?
Well, I finally finished my
novel and I gotta get
back to New York City.
You know, we've been seeing
you work on this book for
about three weeks now,
but you never told us what
it's about.
Well, it takes place
on an island,
just like this one.
That's why I came here.
Cause I wanted to get
all the details right.
It's a story about love.
and jealousy,
and a very pretty girl
who works at
the local diner.
Jess, can I have
a refill, please?
What happens to this girl?
You're gonna have to
read the book to find out.
Jess?
That guy's not coming back,
Jess. You know he isn't.
Want anything else, Emmett?
Another chance... with you.
Turkey club!
I gotta go.
I'm taking my boat out
to Rockland this afternoon,
to get my radar fixed.
Would you want to come?
We'll be back the day
after tomorrow.
We can get dinner,
maybe see a movie,
like the old days?
I have to work.
At least come down
to the dock.
You can see me off.
Jess, turkey club.
[music plays]
Ooh, neat!
Lucy.
You unwrapped your own
Christmas present, didn't you?
I just wanted to make
sure you got the right one.
and even though it's
not, like, the best.
It does have a 64 gig card
and multi-spectral dynamic
imaging. And you remember
I wanted the built in la-
Just put it back
under the tree.
You don't want to
spoil the surprise.
What surprise?
I already know what
you and Dad got me.
You're dad doesn't.
[car approaches]
[car door closes]
Go to your room, Ellie.
Why?
Please. Just go to your room.
Hey, honey.
Sam, we need to talk.
Beverly called to me
this morning.
Mitch, it's happening again
just as we expected.
Multiple reports,
multiple fishermen.
Traps and nets are
up empty.
If you could send a few
grad students and that
exascan sonar unit.
[man talks on phone]
- They're launching a new-
- When did that happen?
They're launching a
new magazine.
There's a spot on the
MASDT for me.
We are talking about the
collapse of a major fishery.
You can't spare even
a few grad students?
[man on phone speaks]
Sam, I'm going back
to Boston.
Mitch, I'll call you back.
I tried to make it here,
I really did.
But two years on this island...
I'm suffocating.
I need to get back
to the real world.
The real world,
what does that mean?
Uhh-someplace not
surrounded by water.
Where I can work. I can't
turn down this job offer.
I can come up here
ever few weeks.
Or we can all move
back to Boston together.
I can't.
I can't leave now.
I need to be here.
What I predicted is
finally happening.
Right.
The fish are vanishing.
The ocean is dying.
The world is doomed.
And what about Ellie?
You know how hard
change is for her.
And she's finally settled in.
She loves it here.
Please don't bring
Ellie into this.
Well I have to bring
Ellie into this.
She's my daughter.
She's not mine.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I have to finish packing.
[eerie music]
Made you a
corn beef sandwich.
Thanks.
Are you, uhm-are you sure you
don't want to come with me?
Val needs me.
Some new guest might
be coming in on the ferry.
And you want to spend
every last minute with Titus.
Have a good trip, Emmett.
I'll see you Wednesday.
- Wait, Jesse?
- Yeah?
[sigh]
One thing you know about
me is I always come back.
[waves crashing]
And that's the last
patient of the day.
Oh, just in time
to catch the ferry.
Oh, uh, do you have
your sea-sick pills?
Right here in my bag.
I'll see you in March, Nina.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Oh, hey. Do you have any
plans for the holiday?
[sigh]
A glass of wine and
a good book.
I'm gonna spend it all by
myself. So that's fine with me,
[softly] Okay.
[regular voice] Bye.
Damn. The power went out.
[ominous music]
[lights flicker]
[scoffs]
[zipping]
[music continues]
[seagulls caw]
[water splashing]
[annoyed sigh]
[bell rings]
Look, I've been trying to
reach the ferry for an hour
but no one's
responding on the radio.
Our power's out and
so is cell phone service.
You can hear we're on
back up generator, here.
Have you tried email, yet?
Internet's out.
Anyone else got it?
It's out at
the clinics, too.
So, no one knows why
the ferry didn't show up?
When the ferry cancels, it's
either weather or mechanical.
Well. the weather
seems fine to me.
So it's gotta be mechanical.
It'll show up when the fix it.
Well, I-I have to get back to
New York City tomorrow.
My daughter's expecting
me for the holidays.
Well, I'm expecting
and Amazon package tomorrow.
If Barb don't get a Christmas
present I'm... dead-meat.
You haven't got Barb
a Christmas present, yet?
What's wrong with you?
Looks like nobody's getting
off the island tonight.
I'm goin' home.
I'm sure it'll be
here tomorrow.
It better. It's got the
monthly shipment
of diesel on it.
Storage tank's are getting
mighty low down on the docks.
Looks like you two'll
need lodgin' again tonight.
I'll make sure there
rooms are ready.
Thanks.
[generator revs]
[ominous music]
We're shutting off the
generator in about
fifteen minutes.
I brought you a
flashlight and some candles.
Thanks, Jesse.
I'm sorry about your
ferry not showing.
That's kinda how
it goes, though.
Living on an island,
can't count on anything.
Ferry, power, the weather.
[chuckles]
Why do you stay here?
I always lived here.
And never had a good
enough reason to leave.
I could use one.
It's only 40 miles to
the mainland,
it's not like from
here to the moon.
Sometimes feels like it.
I mean, just about everything
comes from the mainland,
but, without the ferry-
[power surges]
this is all we're left with.
[deep breaths]
Well, at least I get
one night with you.
[soft music]
[rocking chair creaks]
[generator revs]
[ominous sound]
I like your little
waitress outfit, by the way.
- Really?
- Yeah.
Wish you'd wear it
all the time.
I think I can manage that.
[both chuckle]
[diner music plays]
Ell tells me you're
a novelist.
Anything I might have read?
Uhh, only if the name Titus
McLean means anything to you.
Sorry, it doesn't.
I hear you're a doctor.
Locum tenens.
I'm filling in while
they looking for someone
permanent to take
over the islands.
It seems like I spend
most of my time on ferry's.
When they're running.
It'll show up today, trust me.
Trust him.
[ominous music]
[waves crashing]
[vehicle approaches]
[music on radio]
Looks like you'll have
to stay for Christmas.
Wouldn't be so bad, would it?
It just makes things harder.
I want it to be harder,
I don't want it to be
so easy for you to leave me.
I'm not leaving you.
I'm leaving this island.
It works out the same.
But then come with me,
then let's leave together.
You could find a new job,
talk to the university.
- I burned that bridge.
- Right.
And besides,
I need to stay hear.
I need to finish the study.
You're chasing a phantom,
Sammy. You need to move on.
Rachel's dead. And
whatever she believed...
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have
brought her up.
Uhm...
I don't know anymore
than you do.
I can't raise the
Clara Bee on the radio,
and the phone's still out.
Well I can't raise
anybody on the VHF.
That's never happened before.
Emmett went over
to Rockland yesterday.
he'll let us know what's
going on when he gets back.
Hey, Doc. Guess who's staying
with us another night?
- Mmhmm.
- What can I get you for dinner?
Coffee and a B.L.T.
That will be without
lettuce or tomato,
fresh vegetable just ran out,
and breads not doing
so well either. [laughs]
I got about two days
worth of diesel left
from my generator.
I'm gonna have to start
cutting' down trees
just to stay warm.
- Yeah.
Folks are getting' upset.
More like thrilled.
This is the most excitement
that's happened to this island
in years.
Hey, Sam.
You're the science guy.
You got a theory on
what's goin' on here?
Maybe the undersea
cable got disrupted
dragged up in an anchor,
or something. That could
take out the power
and the phone-line.
Doesn't explain why
the ferry hasn't shown up.
[eerie music]
[radio back-feed]
Tucker island to
Gladys Wink.
[radio back-feed]
Gladys Wink, where are you?
Over.
[radio back-feed]
Emmett, please answer me.
[radio back-feed]
Emmett.
[radio back-feed]
[waves crashing]
Three days without
a single word.
We can handle the
ferry not showing up,
it's the not knowing
that bothers me.
Why hasn't the ferry come?
[imitates ghost sound]
End of the world.
[laughs]
Shut up, Reuben.
It's not funny.
Did it sink? What
if there was a disaster
we haven't heard about?
We're out of bread
and milk at home.
My kids are eating
peanut butter for breakfast.
I have a enough diesel to run
the generator for a few more
days, but when that runs
out, we're in the dark.
[snicker]
- No heat. No lights.
Instead of snickering, Reuben,
why don't you head to Rockland
and find out what's
goin' on over there?
Emmett's already on his way
back. He'll let us know
what's goin' on. [snicker]
He was supposed to
be back yesterday.
Where is he?
I don't know.
[soft cry]
[group chatter]
You really need
all them beans, Lars?
You never know.
'Cause that's the last of 'em.
You should leave some
for other folks. Who knows when
that ferry's gonna run again?
I don't see any limit posted.
Maybe there oughta be.
There's no more
evaporated milk.
Does anyone have a few cans
they can spare for my kids?
Anyone?
Oh, come on, Lars.
Give 'em one of yours.
Early bird gets the worm.
Oh, damnit, Lars.
Give 'em one.
No.
- Yes.
- No.
[items clutter]
Hey. Stop it!
Come on! Come on!
Come on!
[grunts]
We're gonna start
eating each other next.
[soft chuckle]
Crisis like this, you'd think
they'd pull together.
In stead, they're starting
to tear each other apart.
They're scared. And I
can understand that.
They think the rest of
the world's vanished,
and we're on our own.
At least no one will starve.
They could always go fishing.
Good luck catching anything.
Boat's will be out of
diesel soon.
All the fish have vanished.
What?
Yeah, no one's picked
anything up in weeks.
No lobsters, no fish.
What's goin' on out there?
It's a question I'm
trying' to answer.
I wrote a paper on the
phenomenon a few years ago.
Sudden Unexplained
Collapse of a fishery.
SUC Fish for short.
[soft chuckle]
It sounds funny,
but it's a tragedy.
So this is not
a new phenomenon?
There was a theory proposed,
that maybe there are apex
predators we haven't
identified yet.
This is your theory?
My wife's.
I though Lucy was
a journalist?
Lucy and I aren't married.
My wife, Rachel. She was a
Marine Biologist like me.
Was?
Four years ago she
was lost at sea.
We found her research
boat adrift with no aboard.
I'm sorry, Sam.
Yeah, she died doing
what she loved.
That's the one thing
I keep telling myself.
It's like the only
way I can...
I lost someone, too.
So I understand.
There you go. Four stitches.
[soft chuckle]
I'm no plastic surgeon,
so you may end up with a scar.
I'm lucky you happened
to be on the island.
Well, I would love
to get off this island.
What if the ferry
doesn't come?
We all descend into
mass cannibalism.
[soft laugh]
- No, listen. I'm serious.
Look at them, they're scared
and they're at each
others throats.
Who's gonna keep order?
[knock on door]
Uh, Sam. There's a problem
down in the dock and
they need you.
[ominous music]
That Emmett's boat?
Yeah. Only problem is
there's no sign of Emmett.
I found it on the
shores over there.
Radioed Lars and Author.
We went searching on the water
but we couldn't find any sign
of Emmett or his body anywhere.
The day he left, Jess
packed him a sandwich,
it's still in his duffle bag.
He never ate it.
I don't think he ever made
it to the mainland.
Maybe he hit a wave?
Knocked him down.
Sam. There's blood here.
[ominous music]
He went overboard.
Yeah. It's what
it looks like.
Trouble is, the morning Emmett
left, the water was glass.
There were no waves.
What is that?
I don't know.
Looks organic.
[sniffs] Smells organic.
It's like the sea.
He was such a smart kid.
Lived his life on the water.
I don't understand it,
how could he-
how could he go overboard?
The ocean takes
ever the careful ones.
- [deep exhales] Oh, Jesse.
- What?
[inaudible]
[group chatter]
So Emmett never made
it to the mainland.
And we still don' know
where the damn ferry is.
Well there's gotta
be a logical explanation.
You keep saying, Sam.
But what is the explanation?
Why isn't anyone
tryin' to reach us?
Has the whole world
forgotten we're here?
Someone needs to go across and
find out what the problem is.
Emmett already tried,
look what happened.
Look, my generator's dead.
My power's off.
If you're goin' Lars,
I comin' too.
My kids and I are
comin', too. We've had enough.
Hold on, then.
My boat's no big enough.
Well I got enough fuel
to get across the water,
I can carry some of you.
But Lars, you and I
should go out together.
Keep an eye on each other,
in case one of us
get's into trouble.
Lee's runnin' out of
his heart pill. He needs to go.
- I called dibs first.
- People! People!
We can't fit the
whole island in two boats.
Some of you are gonna
have to stay here.
Why don't you all
just draw lots?
[group mutters]
It's the only
fair thing to do.
Are you kiddin'?
There's gotta be priorities.
Sick folks, first.
Then woman and children.
Hey, what is this?
The Titanic?
I need to get off
this island, too.
Not more than my
children do.
If you want to go to the
mainland, be on the pier
at 3 o'clock. We'll figure out
then who gets to go on board.
Looks like there won't
be any room for us.
Well, let me check with
Arthur. His boat's up
on the north shore. Maybe he
can get you across.
[ominous music]
[muffled argument]
At least I can
count on you.
[leaves rustle]
[argument continues]
I'm not trying to-
[ominous noise]
[crow caws]
[ominous music]
We'll be okay, Ellie.
Whatever happens between
me and Lucy, you and I...
we'll manage.
Just the two of us.
- It is 'cause of me?
- What?
- The reason Lucy's leaving?
- No. No.
This is between
me and Lucy.
If anyone's at fault, it's me.
'Cause of the fish?
The fish?
She say's that's all
you think about.
"Where are the fish?" Dad,
who cares about the stupid fish?
No one but you.
[sigh]
- Your mom did.
You know, when you were
six years old, we took you
to the Boston Aquarium,
and you wouldn't leave.
You stuck to that jellyfish
tank tighter than a limpet.
- Remember that?
- Yeah.
We stayed there three hours.
The truth is you mom didn't
want to leave you there. She
was like a fish, herself.
Never happy out of water.
She would have loved it here.
Not like Lucy.
No.
Lucy's different.
You can wait here? I'm just
gonna go talk to Arthur.
And I'll be right back.
[birds cawing]
Arthur!
Arthur! Arthur!
You in there?
Jesus!
Ugh. Dinner.
What?
I'm guessing his last
meal was dinner.
Specifically pork and beans.
I can see the remains here in
the stomach which would place
time of death some
time last evening.
Would have been soon after
he ate because this is
- still pretty much undigested.
- Jesus.
You're a biologist.
Haven't you dissected animals?
Yeah, but this animal
shook my hand last week.
And hello. We have a capsule.
Blue. Arthur was taking
Cardizem. A blue capsule.
Who the hell would
have done this?
Just sliced him up and
thrown him on the rocks.
I can't imagine anyone on
this island killing Arthur.
I'm not sure
this was murder.
His intestines looked like they
were ripped apart, not sliced.
Do you have any
bears on the island?
A bear would have to
swim 40 miles to get here.
What do you think
happened to him?
I don't know.
Clearly there was a struggle.
There's blood everywhere.
Let's take a look
at that blue substance.
Where did you find it, again?
On the axe blade. It looked
like the same stuff
we found on Emmett's boat.
- Blood cells.
- Are you sure?
But those are blue. I've
never seen blood that color.
I have. It's an
adaptation to cold water.
In stead of hemoglobin,
some marine animals
have blood with hemocyanin.
It's copper based. They could
survive sub-freezing
temperatures all the
way down to Antarctica.
Marine animals?
The water. Everyone
should stay off the water!
We need to stop those boats!
It's too late. Lars and
Reuben left an hour ago.
Who went with them?
[ominous music]
Most of the island.
[radio back-feed]
Tucker island calling Anya.
Anya, are you there? Over.
[radio back-feed]
Lars, are you there?
[radio back-feed]
Lars, are you there?
[radio back-feed]
They should still
be in radio range.
Lars, come in. Over.
[radio back-feed]
Do you really want them
to turn around and come back?
They must be half way to
the mainland by now.
They need to know
what happened to Arthur.
We don't know
what happened to Arthur.
Lars, are you there? Over.
[radio back-feed]
[on radio] This is Anya.
What's up, Val? Over.
Lars, it's Sam. You folks
alright out there?
[on radio] Yeah, we just
passed Burdock. No problems.
What about Reuben?
[on radio] His boat's
right behind me.
And here's the good news; there's
plenty of fish out here.
My sonar just lit
up like Vegas.
What do you
see on sonar?
[on radio] It looks like
a giant shoal of fish.
Movin' right beneath us.
About 30 meters down.
Big ass echoes.
Could be blue fin.
Are you sure they're fish?
[on radio] What else
would they be?
Lars, listen to me.
Get to the shore
as soon as you can.
Just head for the closest
landfall, even if it's just
a pile of rocks. Just get
the folks off the boat.
[on radio] Why?
Just get off the water!
[on radio] Jesus Christ.
What the hell is that?
Lars?
[on radio] Hey. Hold on!
And don't let them go over.
[screams over radio]
- [on radio] Hold on.
[muffled speech]
Lars?
[radio feedback]
Lars!
[generator dies]
[strikes match]
That's it. That's the
last of our diesel.
From now on, we're in the dark.
What happened out there, Sam?
I don't know.
You told them to get
off the water, you must
have known something
was going to happen.
Well, I was guessing.
After what happened to Emmett
and then to Arthur.
What did happen to Arthur?
You looked at the remains,
what did you see?
It looks like he was ripped
apart by some sort of animal.
But this happened aboard
his boat. On the water.
This is straight out
of your research paper.
What paper?
I wrote it four years ago on
the collapse of fisheries.
Tell them the rest, Sam.
Rachel and I first saw
it happen here.
It was December, four years
ago in Cape Hatteras.
A sudden and drastic
drop off in catches.
We tried to hunt down reasons.
We tested for toxins,
temperature shifts, and
dinoflagellates.
Dino what?
Red tide. We found nothing
to explain it, but it was
clear there was some sort of
marine catastrophe,
everything vanished from
crab to fish to dolphins-
You said that was the first
time you saw it happen, so
it's happened since then?
A year later, a colleague in
Dover observed the same thing.
And a year after that,
it happened in Nantucket.
So, we thought it might be
the Gulf stream Phenomenon.
Maine isn't on the
Gulf stream.
No, but the Gulf stream and
the Labrador current collide
to create one the richest
fishing grounds in the world,
the gulf of Maine.
And I predicted this is
where it would happen next,
and I was right.
'Cause something's changing.
Something that's causing the
fish population to collapse.
Like in Delaware
and Nantucket.
And it turned out
in other places, too.
There've been reports from
the Azores and Cape Verde.
And the pattern
is always the same;
a sudden disappearance of fish,
local economic devastation,
and then the fishermen
start to die.
From what?
Everyone assumed the deaths
were accidents or suicide, but
the bodies were never
found because
it always happened at sea.
Look, you said you had a
theory for what's causing this?
Rachel believed that there is
a marine predator that we
haven't identified, yet.
It's an apex predator
that migrates with the fish.
And it kills the fishermen?
[laughs]
Wouldn't somebody
have reported this?
That's why no one took it
seriously, but Rachel did.
Because she spotted it
on sonar, something that she
couldn't identify. And the day
that she disappeared, she was
out on the water
looking for it.
Lars saw something
on sonar, too.
He said it looked like
a giant shoal of fish.
Which means there's
more than one.
[soft chuckle]
Or it's really fucking big.
[laughs] Oh, my God.
[ominous music]
Not so boring
here, after all.
[soft laugh]
Maybe you should stay
and cover the story.
Like any good journalist.
Maybe I should.
For the sake of the story.
It just turned out to
be right under my nose.
Captain Aha and
the White Whale.
What?
It's what you called me once,
Captain Ahab, chasing a monster
that would drag me
under the waves.
And it did.
Cost me my job,
brought us to this rock.
When I heard you
explain everything tonight,
I finally understood
the obsession.
It's still about Rachel,
isn't it?
You're on this island
because of her.
Because you are compelled
to find this thing
that she was searching for.
This thing that killed her.
I was never really
quite sure it existed.
But now I know she was right.
I believe her.
So do I.
[waves crashing]
I always despised beans.
Better learn to like 'em,
Titus, 'cause we're running
out of everything else.
Do you mind if we bring some
of our supplies over to Nina's?
She told me this morning that
she's running low on food.
Sure. She can move in
here if she wants.
Ruth and Alvis, too.
It might be smart for us to pull
our resources while we figure
out what the hell is goin' on.
If this were one
of your novels,
how would you explain it?
[soft chuckle]
We all wake up and find
out it just was a nightmare.
Pretty lame for a writer.
Even with that fire goin',
it's gonna get cold in here.
We're gonna need
more blankets.
I'll get 'em.
I just hope this story
has a happy ending.
There's no such thing
as a happy ending.
You're full of sunshine
and light, doctor.
Well, I've seen too
many endings.
some are painful,
some are tragic.
None of them are happy.
That's why I prefer fiction.
Why come all the
way out here to write?
'Cause-
My book takes place
on and island,
and I wanted authenticity.
Pulled out a map, searched
the Maine cost for the most
remote island I could find,
and this was it.
Island Zero.
It's uh...
It's my title.
What does it mean?
The island where all
things can be rebooted.
New lives, new relationships.
New possibilities.
[music plays]
[closes truck of car]
Nina?
I got about a weeks worth
of pork and beans for you.
[muffled] Nina?
[music on radio]
Nina?
I brought a weeks worth
of pork and beans for you.
Nina?
[gasp]
[cries]
[pants]
[tires screech]
[cries]
What did that? What the
hell did that to her?
Ruth and Alvis.
Dad?
- Stay in the car!
- But, Dad.
Stay with Jesse. Both of
you just stay in the car.
But, Dad.
[ominous music]
[creature growls]
Well you could've
knocked, first.
Are you okay?
Alvis ain't up to speed
but I'm doin' fine, considering.
Sounds like a bear hibernating.
[Al snores]
82 degrees in here and
he needs all them blankets.
Ruth! You can't stay here.
You and Alvis need to leave
the house right now.
Why? Where we goin'?
To the inn. Everyone on the
island needs to stay together.
- Dad?
- Go back to the truck, Ellie!
Ruth, Nina's dead.
Something got into her house,
smashed through the window.
Dad, I need to show
you something.
Ellie recording this
a couple of nights ago.
And it happened at the waters
edge right behind our house.
Why are we only hearing
of this video now?
'Cause it was her Christmas
present, she wasn't supposed
to be using it.
What kinda camera is this?
It's a thermographic camera,
the images come from infrared
radiation. You can see
temperature differences
as little as
.07 degrees celsius.
Definitely your kid.
Here.
This is when it happens.
What the hell was that?
Could be a bear,
or a cougar.
No.
So on this camera, cold
temperatures are blue
the warm temperatures are
orange. Play it again, Ellie.
Look what attacks the deer,
what color it is.
It's cold blooded.
Amphibian?
I mean, possibly. But, even
octopuses come out
of the water to hunt. They could
stay out for as long as an hour.
So this is what killed
Arthur and Nina and Emmett.
It's cold blooded,
and it came from the water.
How far is Nina's
house from the water?
About a hundred yards.
We're closer than
that right now.
[gun clicks]
How'd you learn
to do that?
Take apart guns?
I've spent some
time around weapons.
You mean like hunting?
In a way.
Lucy won't let me
near any guns.
Good for her.
This pistol's worthless, but the
rifle and shotgun seem
to be in working order.
Are there any other
weapons on the island?
Between me and Alvis,
that's all we've got.
What about ammo? There's only
four bullets for the rifle.
Arthur used to hunt. Maybe
there something at his house.
I better get over there
before it gets dark.
You shouldn't be out
there alone. I'll go with you.
[ominous music]
If this creature
really exists,
why hasn't anyone reported it?
Well new breed of species are
discovered all the time.
Well were talking about
something that can rip
a man apart. One of these
must've washed on the shore,
somewhere.
- Not necessarily.
Could be like whale fall.
Like what?
Well when a whale dies at sea,
it doesn't wash on shore.
It sinks.
And there carcasses can end
up on abyssal zone
five-six thousand feet down.
where a complex ecosystem
feeds on the corpse.
The deep sea bed
is just littered
with the bones of whales, and
who knows what else.
Found some.
[bullets shake in box]
[music plays]
Here, look at this.
Don't run down
the battery, Ellie.
I'm just showing him
how to use it.
I've never been good
at roughing it. [chuckle]
I hate camping. Can't stand the
ocean. I always get sea sick.
How did you end up
with a marine biologist?
[soft laugh]
I interviewed him for a
Father's Day story
on single dads. One thing
led to another.
So you never met his wife?
No, Rachel had died
two years before.
Sam says Ellie looks
just like her.
It's like Rachel's ghost
is always with us.
How can I compete with that?
Now why do you
have to compete?
You can spot animals that
you'd never see with a regular
camera.
See that orange
thing up in the branches?
I think it might
be a squirrel.
So how long does the
battery last on this thing?
I charged it up yesterday,
plus I have a spare battery.
Even when it's pitch black
outside, you could still see-
What is it? Kid.
What is it?
[ominous music]
There's something coming.
Oh, my God.
[items thud]
[bangs on door]
What the hell was that?
[door creeks]
[monstrous noise]
Where is it?
Why can't we see it?
[screams]
[flesh ripping]
[screams]
[gun shot]
What the hell was that?
Sam?
They'll be back.
[ominous music]
[door creeks]
This is it.
This house is about as far from
the water as we can get.
Who lived here?
The McCarty's. After their kid
drowned they left the island.
Never came back.
A girl.
Titus, are you ready to go?
The others are already
headed up the hill.
Titus?
[dark music]
Titus?
[gasp]
[hammer on door]
Alvis?
Down at the inn, you
said they'll be back.
Like you already know
what's gonna to happen.
Have you seen one of
these things before?
I didn't see it, exactly.
But I've seen what they do.
How? When?
It was on a freighter, in the
Pacific. The Dundee.
We were in the middle of
nowhere. The dolphins had been
followin' us for days.
Then, they vanished.
The sea went calm.
We lost Bill the first night,
on night watch.
Nobody saw him go overboard, he
was just gone the next morning.
The next night, Jake was gone.
On the third ni-
On the third nigh-
What happened on
the third night?
I was in the
engine room, on duty.
When I heard the gunfire, I
thought there had been pirates
attacking us. Huh!
When I got up on deck,
there was no one left.
Blood everywhere,
on the bridge, the galley,
the crewmen's quarters.
12 men gone. I was
the only one left.
You said you saw it, Alvis.
What did you see?
Just on deck, a shimmer,
like T.V. static?
like shimmering.
Then I heard the Navy
copter coming in,
answering our distress call.
The Navy asked me
what had happened. [laughs]
I couldn't tell 'em.
I didn't know. That
was 30 years ago.
[loud bang]
There should be enough there
to tie us over for a few days.
- Where's Jesse?
- Isn't she here?
I thought she was with you.
I didn't see her, I though
she came with you.
I'll go look for her.
[stammer] I'm the one who
screwed up. I'll go with you.
I'll take the shotgun.
No, there gonna need
a weapon here.
You can take the camera. Just
watch for anything coming at us.
'Cause it's the only
way we'll see them.
Yeah.
Yeah, okay.
- Be careful.
- I'll hold down the fort.
[door opens]
Jesse?
Jesse, are you here?
[whispers] There's nothing.
It's clear.
Oh, shit!
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
It was a mouse.
They oughta call
the health department.
[soft laugh]
Blood.
What do you see in there?
Anything?
Nope. It's clear.
[floor board creaks]
[grunts]
[cocks gun]
He killed Jesse.
And left her hanging
on the porch, like bait.
And they gutted her.
Why?
What are you really doing
on this island?
He's got it password
protected, Dad.
I can't get into it.
What's the password?
Guess.
What's the fucking password?!
You might want to cooperate.
Or what? You'll shoot me?
What about the hippocratic
oath? You're a doctor.
You know what's good
about being a doctor?
After I shoot you, I can keep
you from bleeding to death.
A well placed tourniquet
should do it.
Stop, for God's sake.
What are you doing?
I'm okay with this?
You Alvis?
Got no problem.
Have we all lost our minds?
You didn't see Jesse's body,
and what they did to her.
And what he did to her.
And I need to know why.
Okay, Ellie. Go to
the bedroom.
- But, Lucy.
- Just go, please.
Shut the door.
Say good-bye to procreation.
[stammer] palmyra415.
That's the password?
No caps.
[keypad clicking]
Isn't that the
name of his novel?
[snicker]
This isn't a novel.
This is a scientific report.
"Sudden drop in fish stocks,
next event expected at latitude
43.76, Island Zero"
What's island zero?
You are.
We are. This place,
this rock.
We're sitting at ground zero
for the invasion.
I was hoping I would be
miles away by now, but
things coalesced faster
than expected.
You knew what was
gonna happen.
You knew people
would start dying.
I couldn't be certain,
but the data was there.
- What data?
- Your late wife's date,
as a matter of fact.
Four years ago, when she
brought up the possibility of
an unidentified apex predator,
most people laughed.
Some of us didn't because we
have been monitoring
these instances for decades.
Did you never wonder why your
research funding was yanked
so precipitously?
Because we knew too much.
We had to be silenced.
This is a new species.
A major scientific discovery.
It should be shared
with the world.
[laughs]
It's the journalist talking.
Why would you keep
it a secret?
Because it's exploitable.
Right, Titus?
You want it for yourselves.
Oh, I know how you
people think.
These creatures can't be
detected with the naked eye.
On sonar? They just look like
a harmless school of tuna.
They're amphibious
killing, eating machines.
Gee. Who might be
interested in that?
- The military.
- You think?
You were military,
weren't you, Doctor Barrow?
I can always spot an ex-soldier.
That's why you're so
comfortable around fire arms.
Did you serve in
Iraq or in Afghanistan?
Both.
So, and you know what
war does to human bodies?
That's why I left. I got sick
of seeing soldiers ripped apart.
That is exactly why
we need these creatures
on our side, working with us.
Problem is, you may have
destroyed any chance
to negotiate with them because
you went and fucking shot one.
That thing ripped Val apart,
You think we are gonna
to negotiate with them?
We're making first contact
with an intelligent
marine species. My job is
to be the diplomat.
We cannot kill any of them.
Do you all understand that?
Do you?
You're negotiatin' with fish?
They're not fish.
They have a complexed language,
and social structure.
They hunt cooperatively.
Their brains are every bit as
large and neurologically complex
as ours. And their use
of echolocation is beyo-
You ca-
You cannot possibly know
this much about them.
Unless you have one
in captivity.
We caught one. Nine years
ago, after an oil spill,
in the Gulf of Mexico.
It was sick, it was
unable to camouflage itself.
After that discovery, we went
looking for more of them.
Captured another one, uhh,
off the Carolina's.
Third of Cape Hatteras.
Like so many other species,
they're migrating northward.
It's climate change.
Rising temperatures and over
fishing has caused them
to move northward in
search of food,
which has brought
them right here,
to the world's
richest fishing waters.
Island Zero.
Where it all begins.
People live here.
You can't keep this a secret.
They can keep
anything a secret.
All them people dead.
And we're next, aren't we?
Damn you! Goddamn you!
- Don't!
- Dad! Their coming!
A lot of them!
[monster growls]
[leaves rustle]
Oh, my God!
[hammering nails]
[monster growls]
Cut me loose!
You need me, Sam!
You, shut up!
You're all gonna die
if you don't listen to me!
I can negotiate with them!
[hammering nails]
You have to let me go!
Only 'agotiations gonna
be with this here shotgun!
If you kill one of them,
you kill all of us!
[distant thumps]
You have to let me go!
I can talk to them!
[monster growls]
[distinct talking]
[walls creak]
[loud thud]
[floorboards creak]
They're in the basement.
I don't know how
they got it.
Dad!
[monster growls]
Don't shoot it!
For God's sake. Let me
talk to them!
[gun clicks]
- Start talking.
- I need my laptop.
Cut me loose!
[loud thud]
Here, here, here!
Talk now, Titus,
or I'm pulling the trigger.
[monster growls]
What the hell?
We've been studying their
language for years, and we
think this means "hello."
You think?
We're not entirely sure.
So you might be telling him
his mom wears army boots.
It stopped. It's thinking.
[monster hisses]
It's working.
It's not attacking.
What happens after hello?
Negotiations begin.
[computer imitates
monster noise]
What are you telling
it, Titus?
[computer imitates
monster noise]
What the hell
are you telling it?
[computer imitates
monster noise]
What the hell
are you telling it?
I think he just told
them "dinner is served."
And we're dinner.
The attic.
Get to the attic!
Ellie!
Alvis. Alvis come with us!
Alvis!
Ruth, go! Go!
Dad, there's one
right behind you!
[gun shot]
[monster whimpers]
[monster growls]
I'm a friend!
[computer imitates
monster noise]
Don't attack!
Don't attack!
Don't attack!
[laptop breaks]
I'm a friend!
I'm a friend!
[intense music]
[monster hisses]
[gun shot]
[group screams]
[Ruth cries]
Where are they?
I don't know.
Are they gone?
We have no food
or water in here.
[Ruth continues to cry]
All we have to do is wait
and starve ourselves.
[knocks on door]
Hey, it's me!
Alvis?
[jiggling door handle]
- Open up!
Oh, my God.
It's Alvis! It's Alvis!
Damn old fool!
I thought I lost you!
Ohh! I thought you were dead!
Where's Titus?
He is there!
And there!
Well they take
their dead with them.
Why is Alvis still alive?
Why didn't they attack him?
Probably 'cause his
hide's too damn tough.
[soft laugh]
Would you want
to eat him?
Sam, come up and
take a look at this!
Look at the skin
on this thing.
It's shiny, almost reflective.
Some kind of
protective armor?
This skin isn't for
protection, it's for bending
and refracting light.
The military is trying to
develop something
just like this.
That's why we can't see them.
In stead of changing the
color of it's skin,
like a chameleon or octopus,
these things have evolved a
completely different way
to disappear.
Prey would never see
it coming.
The ultimate advantage
for a predator.
[ominous music]
[couple talking]
Dad, my camera
battery is almost dead.
Shut it down.
We won't be able
to see them coming.
Then we'll just
have to keep them out.
And we'll reinforce
the boards again.
And then what? We stay
here and starve?
Well at least we
won't freeze to death.
Got all that wood to burn.
[Alvis laughs]
Heat. That's it.
That must be it.
What?
The reason Alvis
is still alive.
He stayed near the stove.
And they can't
tolerate heat.
And that's why they're moving
north like the other species.
Huh.
You were the only survivor
on that cargo ship
because you were in a
hot engine room.
According to this research,
the creatures are attracted to
noise and to light.
There's no mention of heat, or
any specific temperature that
repels them.
82 degrees.
How do you know that?
'Cause that's how we
set the thermostat at home.
[soft laugh]
They didn't come to our house.
They went to Nina's instead.
So we're gonna heat
the place up.
We're gonna get it
nice and toasty.
And keep it warm in here.
Keep 'em at bay until
someone rescues us.
I don't think anyone's
coming to rescue us, Sam.
It's all here in the report.
Their plans for the island.
- Isolate. Quarantine.
- And eliminate.
I thought they wanted
these creatures alive?
Why would they kill them?
This isn't about the
creatures. It's about us.
What they have planned for us.
That's why they cut
off the island.
The ferry, the phones.
We're the only ones left
who know what happened.
Their gonna wait
until we're dead.
The world would find out.
There'd be questions.
And they'd have the answers.
A way to explain how
we all died.
A fire in the village, or
Sam here went berserk
and slaughtered us all.
If no one's coming
to rescue us then...
what are we gonna do?
[intense music]
What was it like in the army?
Hot.
I don't like hot.
Did you ever shoot anyone?
Why are you asking? You
think it's fun shooting people?
I just wondered. I've
never even held a gun.
Lucy's scared of them, and my
dad says he won't shoot anything
'cause he's a biologist.
A gun is a tool, Ellie,
that's all.
Like a chainsaw, someone
could get hurt if your careless.
I'm not careless.
Would you really have shot
Titus in the you know where?
I guess we'll never know,
will we?
Shouldn't you be sleeping?
You aren't.
Someone has to stay alert.
Can I lie down next to you?
What do they want?
The creatures.
Probably what everybody
wants, to stay alive,
and breathe, to eat.
Have kids.
How come you
don't have any kids?
That's a personal question.
I'm sorry. I just think
you'd be a cool mom.
I was.
[loud clang]
Anything happening?
Not a sound.
I know they're out
there somewhere.
I don't know what
they're waiting on.
Not hungry enough, yet.
Maybe we scared them.
You did kill a few.
Sam, there's only
seven bullets left.
- It's not enough.
- I know.
I wasn't there when
she was born.
Rachel went into labor
three weeks early.
I was at a conference in Oregon.
I missed-
watching her come
into the world.
And now-now I'm gonna
have to watch her-
I'm not gonna
let it happen.
Not to you.
[monster growls]
I hate this waiting around.
Letting them choose the moment.
There's nothing else
we can do.
I read the
Island Zero report.
They can only be out of
the water for an hour at a time.
And they hunt at night.
If they do attack, it will be
in the next five hours.
[monster growls]
I've got every window
boarded up.
But even if we hold them
off tonight, what about
tomorrow night?
And the night after?
In a week we'll be out
of food and water.
Maybe it's the soldier in me,
but starving to death is not
how I wanna go down.
Are you suggesting
we attack them?
We know they're attracted
to light and to noise.
That's how they
locate their prey.
They don't need to find us,
they know where we are.
So let's roll out
the welcome mat.
[monster growls]
[distant Christmas music]
[monster growls]
What are you waiting for?
What if this is the only
population on earth, I'd be
killing the last of
their species.
Good!
[Christmas music continues]
[deep exhale]
[fire crackles]
[monster growls]
[helicopter hovering]
We can't stay here.
We need to leave.
Maybe they're coming
to rescue us.
What if you're wrong?
[building collapses]
Go, now!
Sam!
Shouldn't we at least
wait to see if-
[gasp]
[monster growls]
[ripping sound]
[gasp]
[Lucy screams]
Lucy!
[gun shots]
No! No! No!
Lucy! No!
Oh, my go-
Oh, my God!
- Sam, we need to leave now!
- No. No!
- Sam, we have to leave!
- Please don't leave me!
- Please! No!
- They're coming!
[building collapses]
Sam!
- Sam!
- Don't leave me!
No! No!
[soft talking]
[Sam cries]
Here! Here!
We're here!
Where's my dad?
Where's Lucy?
[ominous music]
[Sam cries]
[distant gun shots]
Dad? Dad?
- Quiet. We have to be quiet.
- No! We can't leave him!
Go back! We have to go back!
No, I'm in charge, soldier!
My job is to keep you alive,
and I am going to do that,
you got that?
That is what I
am going to do!
And it's what I'm
going to do.
[Ellie cries]
[ominous music]
We're far enough away, now.
Can't you turn on the engine?
No engine, no noise.
There might be more of them.
We have to be silent.
It's forty miles
to the mainland.
You're gonna row the whole way?
I can do it.
I can do it.
[whispers] I can do it.
[ominous music]